how to become an antitrust lawyer

5 Career Tips For Aspiring Antitrust Lawyers

• Be a Generalist. Antitrust practice spans every industry and includes activities ranging from litigation and merger counseling to internal investigations and compliance training.
• Seek Out Government Work. ...
• Learn to Speak the Economists' Language. ...
• Practice Distilling Complex Facts. ...
• Stay Up on the News. ...

Full Answer

How do I get a job as an antitrust attorney?

Being a good antitrust lawyer requires a combination of lawyering skills, including oral and written advocacy, an understanding of economics, interpersonal skills for large cases with multiple co-defendants and plaintiffs’ counsel, and liking risk and the high-stakes poker game that is inherent in virtually every antitrust matter due to the size of the potential litigation exposure or the …

What do you hate about being a government antitrust lawyer?

Antitrust attorneys straddle the line between litigation and corporate attorneys. They may advise about possible antitrust regulatory issues in an acquisition or other transaction and also represent companies in litigation, especially against the Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, or similar foreign government agencies.

What are the different types of antitrust lawyers?

Nov 20, 2020 · What it takes to be an antitrust lawyer. Ropes & Gray partner Ruchit Patel on working with some of the biggest players in pharma and his role as the London office’s graduate recruitment partner ...

Do antitrust litigators work in government?

As an antitrust lawyer, you'd need to be a good negotiator at the very least. If you're specializing in mergers, most of your work will be in the boardroom rather than the courtroom. That would entail some serious negotiations. If you're planning to prosecute cases, you'll need to …

Does antitrust law pay well?

The salaries of Antitrust Lawyers in the US range from $17,281 to $456,941 , with a median salary of $83,521 . The middle 57% of Antitrust Lawyers makes between $83,523 and $207,156, with the top 86% making $456,941.

What are antitrust lawyers?

Antitrust attorneys help companies navigate competition issues created by organic growth or acquisition under national and international laws and regulations. Antitrust attorneys straddle the line between litigation and corporate attorneys.

What makes a good antitrust lawyer?

Being a good antitrust lawyer requires a combination of lawyering skills, including oral and written advocacy, an understanding of economics, interpersonal skills for large cases with multiple co-defendants and plaintiffs' counsel, and liking risk and the high-stakes poker game that is inherent in virtually every ...

What is antitrust litigation like?

As with government antitrust litigation, the subject matter of private antitrust litigation can vary widely, including claims for alleged price fixing, price discrimination, bid rigging, tying, refusals to deal, vertical trade restraints, monopolization, attempted monopolization, and unfair competition.

Is antitrust Corporate law?

In the United States, antitrust law is a collection of mostly federal laws that regulate the conduct and organization of business corporations and are generally intended to promote competition and prevent monopolies.

Is antitrust litigation or transactional?

Fundamentally, the practice of antitrust lives at the intersection of litigation, transactional, and regulatory work. In speaking with law students around the country, I have found that most students are familiar with transactional and litigation practices at law firms, but know less about the regulatory aspect of law.

What do competition lawyers do?

A competition lawyer usually does antitrust and merger control, and advising clients on day-to-day compliance – often at the same time. Matters tend to involve large, well-known companies that are more likely to influence competition on markets and include large M&A transactions and global cartel investigations.

Is antitrust a litigation?

Antitrust Lawsuits. Antitrust lawsuits are a type of class-action lawsuit which is filed by individuals, organizations or agencies for claims of anticompetitive business practices which led to unfair competition, price fixing or other types of fraud.

What are antitrust concerns?

Antitrust laws are statutes developed by governments to protect consumers from predatory business practices and ensure fair competition. Antitrust laws are applied to a wide range of questionable business activities, including market allocation, bid rigging, price fixing, and monopolies.

What does the word antitrust mean?

Definition of antitrust : of, relating to, or being legislation against or opposition to trusts or combinations specifically : consisting of laws to protect trade and commerce from unlawful restraints and monopolies or unfair business practices.

What is antitrust law?

Antitrust law is what prevents unfair business acts such as: Price -fixing: When a rival business colludes with one another to keep prices at a certain level, it is known as price-fixing. This practice enables the companies concerned to achieve higher profit margins to the detriment of the consumer.

What to do if a company violates antitrust laws?

If a company is charged with violating antitrust laws, they'll need legal representation. As a lawyer, in this case, you'd argue the case, provide advice, deal with settlement negotiations if applicable, and lobby for the reduction of fines and penalties.

Why is antitrust important?

Antitrust ensures that the market will remain a fair place to conduct business where every business has a chance, and every consumer has choices. Because antitrust law deals with business and economic knowledge, knowing specific market details could benefit antitrust lawyers when building a case.

What is monopoly activity?

Monopoly activity: These are activities designed to give the company an unfair advantage by limiting the field of competition. In a free economy, companies have to ensure that they're competitive by producing a better product or offering a better price. This only works if they've got competition, though.

What was the Sherman Act?

The Sherman Act formed the basis of antitrust law. This act was passed in 1890 and was the first federal regulation to prevent monopolies and regulates competition among businesses by prohibiting activities and agreements that would monopolize the market.

What is the Clayton Antitrust Act?

The Clayton Antitrust Act is an expansion into an area the Sherman Act does not cover. This act explicitly prevents mergers and acquisitions that lessen competition that could lead to a monopoly. It also allows private parties to sue for damages and requires businesses to let the government know of mergers.

What is bid rigging?

Bid rigging is another behavior where two or more businesses who are bidding on something agree to bid low, so one business, in particular, wins the bid. Bid rigging can be broken down into:

There's a lot to like about antitrust practice, including the sheer diversity of this area

Ed. note: Welcome to the latest installment of Better Know A Practice Area, a series introducing readers to different practice areas. Each post is written by an editor at Practical Law who previously practiced in that area and currently writes about it.

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What is competition law?

Competition law encompasses EU and UK private and administrative law. The breadth and depth of legal knowledge required to succeed in competition law is really significant. If you’re into the law this is a great area to practice.

Why is competition important?

Competition causes companies to innovate, seek opportunity to grow, generate efficiency, and enter new product markets and geographies. To advise a client well you need to understand how they compete — which gives you a truly privileged insight into the business.